Last week, Limerick Chamber contacted the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, about the Mackey roundabout and the safety issues there to formally request €2.2 million in funding to advance the next stage of improvement works to the roundabout. This is a critical priority for the safety of people in the mid-west but also for our economic development. It is a key interchange in the east of the city, connecting the M7 motorway to the R445 Dublin road. It is a primary gateway to Limerick, including into the University of Limerick, UL, and National Technological Park. There is a huge volume of traffic there and it frequently causes persistent backups right up the motorway. It is a car park at peak times. It is really quite dangerous and we are lucky someone has not been killed because when you are coming along the motorway, you literally come to a sudden stop with no warning. Basically, the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan transport strategy identified this as one of four key pinch points. While some work has been completed, the project cannot proceed to the next stage without the additional €2.2 million. I hope the Government will release that funding.

I thank Deputy Sheehan for raising this matter and highlighting the issue Limerick Chamber has also raised with the Government. I thank the Deputy for the useful description he has given me of the issue not just in terms of the congestion and the traffic issues and the environmental issues they cause but also the dangers in terms of cars coming to a sudden halt. On foot of the Deputy raising this issue, I will speak with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and ask that he examine how the Government can assist and respond to the Deputy directly.